gavinlg
Mentor
LOL, stop enabling camera companies to keep making crappy cameras. If you put my 5d in P mode, any one on earth can use it and take good photos. You don't need to completely strip a camera of all control and have features like taking 20 shots in rapid succession and having the camera pick the best one based off some algorithm that probably doesn't work 90% of the time, just so that people who aren't 'serious photographers' can take a photo with it...
What ever happened to the good old auto mode? At which point did simply pressing a button to take a picture need to be dumbed down further?
It's not good for serious photographers, it's not good for soccer moms, it's just a rubbish idea!
kshapero
South Florida Man
Once the "1" ships, he may wear it as an ear ring.
gavinlg
Mentor
And I might add that it's not just this forum that's having a knee-jerk reaction - every single photography forum I've checked has threads with guys and girls scorning this system in the same manner...
Paul T.
Mentor
really? we are discussing this camera in the context of Micro fourthirds, which have sold really well. I haven't heard any suggestions they're all being bought by "serious" photographers trading down.
Nikon have elected to fill a niche that's very close to existing compact cameras. But they've done so at a pricepoint that's very close to 4/3 and APS-C cameras. And remember, people who buy expensive compacts like the G10, do indeed tend to be "serious" photoraphers.
In short, the price of the Nikon1 is indisputably "serious" !
Paddy C
Unused film collector
That was truly funny. Thank you. Had an instant image of it dangling from his ear and his head tilted to the side.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
Did I read that this thing is $900.00?
If so thats close to 75% of the price of the X100 ... if that doesn't make you gag nothing will!
If so thats close to 75% of the price of the X100 ... if that doesn't make you gag nothing will!
Paddy C
Unused film collector
It's not just the price I think.
The Online Photographer linked to a Nikon promo video that gives a better idea of what, I gather, Nikon is aiming for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_F10zJwXWo
Watching the video I realized the camera (to my mind) is an odd mix of the really advanced and the really simple. And that includes the design which I deem nice, minimal and high-end looking (with an EVF even), but yet doesn't have the direct control options one would expect.
So it's the "smart camera for stupid people". Which is why the reaction on the webz is so negative. The camera sort of sucks you in a bit and then leaves you with disdain. The speed is incredible, for example, but then you realize you probably won't be able to "control" it.
Apparently, you don't even have to turn it on.
daninjc
Well-known
Adanac
Well-known
Soccer moms and dads (guilty, but I'm not the target market) will love it. It'll be dubbed the "never miss a shot camera".
Their photos will still largely be boring but at least they'll get the moment the foot connects with the ball, finally.
Their photos will still largely be boring but at least they'll get the moment the foot connects with the ball, finally.
I guess my point is that the average consumer doesn't know anything about sensor size and that might just be in Nikon's favor here. It seems to be for those nikon users which like the P series but want something that offers a little more. Remember, most people who buy cameras do not geek out on forums and memorize sensor sizes...
semilog
curmudgeonly optimist
Gavin, photographers like you and me and many others on this forum are obsessed with process, method, technique, and equipment.
Most people are not. They just want good pictures with as little fuss as possible. This camera will deliver those pictures, and reasonable-quality video as well. It's not made for you.
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semilog
curmudgeonly optimist
Exactamundo.
semilog
curmudgeonly optimist
Does the 1 have a "scowling photojournalist" mode?
user237428934
User deletion pending
Soccer moms take the real important photos that matter and I'm absolutely serious here. And look at this for another opinion about photos that matter http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=110757
Paul T.
Mentor
A fair observation - but remember, this is an expensive item, for people who don't know anything about cameras. Shelling out getting on for a grand is a great incentive to finding out more about the thing you're buying!
Juan Valdenebro
Truth is beauty
From the video linked on page 1 by Gavin, I see it as a totally new and ultra advanced whole system designed for new hobbyists wanting to step up from the common compact cameras, and it might have some real success... For those new digital shooters for sure it looks like there's nothing close to it... That's the message I read there: nothing like this. It's the hottest thing for those who don't want to be in control but want to get the best results trusting technology, and that's most of the world wanting to spend a bit more... A wise move IMO for that pricey market: coming out these days, it almost says "a great Christmas gift"...
Cheers,
Juan
Cheers,
Juan
Adanac
Well-known
Sure they do; my wife certainly does. Without her, I'd probably never be in a photo anyway... the invisible husband!
To your point, it's the soccer moms of the world (or dads as the case may be) who take the "boring" shots - groups, families, minor events that get remembered later much more fondly - that often matter most, while their photographic spouses are off making "art" along with occasional portraits.
In my prior post I was being facetious in any case. I do see a market for this camera. It isn't me and probably isn't many here. But it is very likely a good camera for my wife. The thing is... there are a great many good cameras that would fit my wife today and I have to believe her needs are going to be very similar to most other soccer moms and dads who don't fancy themselves as artists but want good images of their kids and friends and activities.
I'd like to think my X100 is also a good choice - put it in Program mode / Auto ISO with a decently fast floor shutter speed and sure as shootin', she'd get decent shots most of the time with that. Unfortunately you need an experienced photographer in the family to size up the requirements and pre-set the camera, but once set, the X100 would do a very good job indeed.
There is a trail of cameras following my wife around, most of which are still here and functioning perfectly. I think I was most successful when I bought her a Leica Minilux, but that was late in the film game, sadly. Terrible viewfinder but all she had to do was press the shutter release and move on. Good image quality. For enough years to make me not totally regret buying it, a very happy wife was the end result.
Next as a runner up would be a Canon p&s digital would be runner up. It was not bad but no where near the quality of the Leica output in those days. Got used a lot though because it was convenient, and high IQ and high res photos are not needed when she was snapping kids at school for the grade school yearbook. Not the tool I would have used but I was busy elsewhere in those days.
I utterly failed in providing her access to my Contax film cameras, or the dumbed down but still nice Nikon with AF which she killed when the camera swung forward from the strap around her neck into a student desk. Oops.
A 4/3s Olympus followed for her. Never really caught on with her big time but she did use it faithfully, probably due to the zoom. I still think her Minilux snaps were superior in quality and content though.
Now more often than not she uses her phone, or I get called to the school do use whatever tool I want, "just get me images of X, Y and Z."
I don't think my wife really needs a 60 FPS auto-pick-the-best shot camera, but maybe I'm wrong... maybe it is exactly the sort of camera an unskilled shooter (she never will be truly skilled but does take lots of photos at school and is improving) really needs. Talking about depth of field and blurring backgrounds largely gets forgotten year to year, if it ever was absorbed. For me those are critical creative tools, for her, learning about them gets in the way. She'd rather the shots be in focus more often than not and how much is in focus is fairly irrelevant to her.
But could a V1 or J1 slipped in her purse fill the bill and deliver images she'd approve of? Probably. Ok, no doubt. But then so could a bunch of other digital higher end p&s or better cameras, and likely at better price points. Somehow I don't think that Nikon will create a tidal wave of demand that obliterates all those other potentially good options.
uhoh7
Mentor
Interesting to contrast the "one"s reception with the launch of the Nex-7.
I can't remember a new system being so widely trashed at launch----ever.
Nikon: get real and get to work. The "other one" is eating your lunch, girls.
Imagine the reception of a genuine M9 alternative: FF, microlenses, short register and SMALL.
That will be "the one"--and untill it exists, the closest to those ideals will be the one.
At the moment there is no contest: the Nex 7 is the one, and this fancy P&S is the "UN".
I can't remember a new system being so widely trashed at launch----ever.
Nikon: get real and get to work. The "other one" is eating your lunch, girls.
Imagine the reception of a genuine M9 alternative: FF, microlenses, short register and SMALL.
That will be "the one"--and untill it exists, the closest to those ideals will be the one.
At the moment there is no contest: the Nex 7 is the one, and this fancy P&S is the "UN".
Athos6
Tao Master
I Know!
I Know!
Check the B&H page, with the kits its over a grand! Only a single kit comes in under $1000... I'm seriously wondering how they are suppost to sell these over a NEX-5n??? I love Nikons, I really do, I couldn't talk myself into buying one of these for myself or my wife....
Athos
I Know!
Did I read that this thing is $900.00?
If so thats close to 75% of the price of the X100 ... if that doesn't make you gag nothing will!
Check the B&H page, with the kits its over a grand! Only a single kit comes in under $1000... I'm seriously wondering how they are suppost to sell these over a NEX-5n??? I love Nikons, I really do, I couldn't talk myself into buying one of these for myself or my wife....
Athos
cosmonaut
Well-known
I always reserve comment until is see first hand IQ and read hands on reviews. The Olympus E5 was the big let down when it was announced but once it got into the hands of the masses everyone begin to see it really was a nice upgrade. Olympus sells were better than expected. Remember the first three letters in assume.